From:PT.Wijaya Tribwana Int'l
To: Wijaya architect (PSS)
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 4:09 PM
Subject: Fw: FYI (fm MW 2 Lissa C.) Some notes on "RITES OF PEACE"
----- Original Message -----
From:PT.Wijaya Tribwana Int'l
To:Lissa Coote
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 10:43 AM
Subject: FYI (fm MW 2 Lissa C.) Some notes on "RITES OF PEACE"
F.Y.I.
Made
----- Original Message -----
From:Made Wijaya
To:Lucienthynne
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 8:33 AM
Subject: Some notes on "RITES OF PEACE"
(Who was that leggy blond Sloane on Dr. Blair's arm screaming " I love Nepi(sic)" after the screening???) .......................................................................................................................
Last night I promised you my thoughts on the film (below...and do send me a transcript of the narration so i can offer some advice). I must say at first that I did not go to the ceremony because i was shocked by some of the marketing tactics employed by the fund-raisers -- see my contraversial piece in the Jakarta Post on strangerinparadise.com -- and because I was a bit lazy. I did send some offerings. My office(like most Balinese offices) does Puras Besakih, Batur and Uluwatu every year and I do Sakenan every six months ( these being amongst the important Pura Sad Kahyangan) and I was not convinced by the new age sounding hype surrounding the event ( Its all about restoring balance ( order) in the Hindu universe, not "RItes of Peace" ...a subtle but important difference BTW) that I wanted to go to another Panca Wali Krama; but having watched your film I really regret missing it, especially those processions to the water temples in the magic mountain air!!!
Firstly, well done for trying to educate the masses about the real Bali -- not enough of that.. what, what. Your film has some lovely footage, and does tell the story, but is riddled with historical errors, cultural faux pas and mistakes.
Some General Comments:
For my money, the film needs to better establish that:
- The Batur Lake area is the cradle of Ancient Bali ( the villages of SOngan. Selulung, Terunyan ( Pasek Taro Selem) and Belantih to name a few) and that Batur Lake is the abode of Dewi Danu the much reverred ( particulaly by the agricultural ( subak) community) godess of all areas temples. One can postulate that, after the arrival of the first wave of Hindu Javanese priests from Besukian in East Java -- around the time of the founding of Pura Puncak Penulisan nearby ( 11th Century-ish) or more probably after the arrival of Empu Kutural ( who introduced Tri Hita Kirana (which Lawrence describes beautifully, when not channelling Yoda) --Dewi Danu was 're-styled' as Dewi Sri, the rice goddess, the divine consort of Dewa Wishnu, the Preserver, Mountain, Black. The lake Batur area is very Wisnuwa -- all the black costumes, the Bujangga clan, the Pasek Taro selem etc etc -- and the neighbouring Pura Batur is the official abode of Dewa Wisnu in Bali ( Pura BEsakih being Siwa, ULuwatu Rudra etc etc ...all this 'divisions' fairly recent one imagines...as for a thousand years Dewi Danu reigned supreme...and does still today in the minds of the mountain folk(ask Sarita).
- There are in Bai today many major, major annual festivals at major Sad Kahyangan temples -- Pura Batur and Pura Jati below on the lake edge among them -- that dwarf the Teluk Biyu ceremonies( I never got the name of the new temple) . Why??
- YOu need to establish -- or postulate as to-- why Teluk Biyu was dedicated to Lord Siwa and not Wisnu, as most of the other big temples are in the area. ( One suspects that it wasn't always Siwawa).
- What is the essence of Ma'dewa'swaraya (sraya??) that differentiates it from the other PANCA WALI KRAMA rituals ( coz tht is basically what the film shows, a classic Parisada Hundu Dharma PANCA WALI KRAMA ( which may or may not have originated at Pura Batur coz they sure do it best!!)) carried on every five years at the Pura Sad Kahyangan since the last Eka Dasa Rudra at Besakih in 1979.IS teh MADEWASRAYA ceremony teh foundation for HIndu Bali's PANCA ( every five year) WALI (Offererings =Bali) KRAMA
- The fact that Teluk Biyu is not a Sad Kahyangan is not important...it is a very ancient temple and obviously was once much more important. Its present position hard on the magnificent Pura Batur (like a siderider) must be mentioned( you do show the CHinese of Kintamani village's chinoiserie Dharma shrine in Pura Batur).
- The link between the Batur Lake and the rice fields , and all the little mini shrines to Dewi SRi(and thus the lake goddess) in the Balinese rice fields is there in teh film but would be more apparent, with better editing. Viewers can better relate to this than too much heavy Bakti Yoga ritual
- The link between Ancient Javanese Hinduism ( the kawi script, the statuary of these ancient Puncak Penulisan related temples) . A little map showing Rsi Makandya's progress in the 10th(?) century from East Java to Pura Puncak Penulisan to Taro to Besakih (eventually; second attempt) would be enlightening to teh geopgraphically challenged american public who think Bali is in eth SOuth Pacific. Did Rsi Makandya bring Wishnu Hinduism(?) to the warring states of mountain Bali(my theory..check with. Wayan Surpa...ask J.D or STephen Lansing..David Stewart-Fox...Heidi Hinsler...Kadek Krishna.) . Was Rsi Makandaya founder of Penulisan and perhaps Teluk Biyu) ). Before this "colonization by contagion ( C. Gertz)" the mountain gods were called, simply, Dewa Wayan and Da Tonga etc(sugra)
(You need not bang on in the film about all this, just an intriguing glimpse of the history of the Batur region, and of the arrival of Hinduism in mountain Bali ( Majapahit was much later...you need to show a golden deer statue in a temple to properly establish this --there is one in Pura Batur)
REALLY GOOD THINGS IN THE FILM:
- ALL the interviews with Balinese in the film strike the right note ( about restoring harmony and balance in the Hindu universe) except the one priest who seems a tad New Age and mentions teh peace angle. The Balinese don't do things to bring things...they just placate demons ( is that all) and restore balance. It is more pro-balance than pro-active. I'd drop teh Bali Bomb bit...not really relevant. Before the bombs it was to much hedonism or teenage sex or comercialism that some touted as teh target. NO TARGETS IS THE HINDU BALINESE WAY.
- Lawrences heart-felt narration ( as opposed to Orson Wells heartless droning in "The Eleven Powers( the film about teh Eka Dasa Rudra)
MISTAKES IN THE FILM
WISNU IS BLACK, NOT WHITE
THE BARONG IS A BARONG BANGKAL, not "babi rusa"
Majahpahit was not "vanquished" (?): it enjoyed a rich Islamic era post Hindu The East Javanese who migrated to Bali were not "banished" but slowly migrated over centuries . There are exceptions:The Kesatria Dewa Blambangan Clan of Banjar in North Bali were possibly one mass exodus. Most mountain Balinese are "sugian Bali" i.e. not of theMajapahit migration. ( Do teh prasasti say that Gajah Mada the Majapahit P.M> was actually at Pura Teluk Biyu?? Incredible!!)
The temple artifacts in the film do not look old BTW ( the bronze/copper plate prasasti (operation manual)do though) Barong Dancers are not in trance necessarily ( ITS HARD WORK!!)
SMALL MISPRONUNCIATIONS ( that i caught..as generally very good)
Ma'dewasraya...not Made'swaraya
Baa'rong ...not brr'ong
Pa'kelem (was pretty good)
Other:
It would be good to have some howlies(bule) shown doing stuff at teh temple ( that temple attracted quite a following and it is in the nature of Hindu Bali to be all-accepting)
The Dino Di Lorentius type-face in the credits is wrong ( Did J.Allen do these?? He's sch a TERMINATOR nut.) Keep it light and joyousmy advice.
The narration is too racey/galloping at start ( ten minutes)
You show some footage of an artifact carved with images of the 9 main hindu gods ( NawaSangga) and then talk about only three (teh Tri Sakti)
The dances in the temple are called WALI which I beleive is the origon of the name BALI
That airy Fairy new age music on much of the sound track does not sit well with your classic footage.
HOPE ALL THIS HELPS. GOOD LUCK \
Made Wijaya
